Miki's Farm Fresh Market to check out of Palo Alto

By Jason Green

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
03/25/2013 08:47:25 PM PDT

Updated:
03/26/2013 05:15:44 AM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

People walk past the front door of Miki's Farm Fresh Market in Alma Plaza in Palo Alto on Monday, March 25, 2013. The store is preparing to close down, less than six months after opening.
(Kirstina Sangsahachart/ Daily News)

Eight years ago, Palo Altans said goodbye to a failing grocery store at Alma Plaza. On April 1, history will repeat itself when the long-awaited successor to Albertsons shuts its doors after being open less than six months.

Miki's Farm Fresh Market announced its plans to close April 1 with signs taped to the windows of the roughly 18,000-square-foot store.

"Thank you for your support," the fliers posted Sunday read.

But it was a lack of support that sank veteran grocer Michael "Miki" Werness' market, which boasted a "cross-over format" that lined shelves with both specialty and brand-name products.

"I'm really sad. This is not good for me and my family," Werness said Monday afternoon, as he smoked a cigarette in the parking lot. "We just didn't capture the audience like we should have. It didn't just go right for me."

John McNellis, whose firm owns Alma Plaza and oversaw its redevelopment as a mix of housing and retail, said things have been bad for the market since it opened Oct. 17. In fact, Werness has yet to pay a dime of rent.

"It wasn't a matter of rent forcing him out. It was a matter of his sales being so low he could not pay his vendors," McNellis said in a telephone interview.

Still, McNellis said he hadn't expected to return from a trip out of town to learn that the market was closing.

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"It's kind of like having a friend or family member with serious cancer. We knew what the sales were. We knew they were terrible," McNellis said. "It was a shock that he was closing, but it wasn't a surprise."

Although Werness wasn't making ends meet, he was drawing rave reviews. Miki's has a four-and-a-half star rating on Yelp.

"I put together a good store," said Werness, who studied the business under Palo Alto grocer John Piazza Sr. and went on to work for the likes of the Berkeley Bowl. "From that standpoint, I'm not a failure. It's a wonderful store and everyone that did shop it always told me they loved it."

As for why more people didn't shop at Miki's, McNellis speculated that the market was unfairly perceived as being too expensive because of its organic leanings, sort of like a mini-Whole Foods.

"He might have had better luck if he was just 'Miki's General Neighborhood Market' and not so organic," McNellis said.

In addition, Werness had quite a bit of overhead, including 25 full-time and 25 part-time employees to pay.

Then there was the market's mid-block site on Alma Street, between East Meadow Drive and El Verano Avenue.

"This has always been a challenging retail location. We just need to find the right supermarket for it," said McNellis, adding that he hopes to fill the vacancy within two to three months.

"I don't have any choice. I've got to try again. It's a wildly expensive building there I've got to try to fill up."

Outside the market Monday, Melissa Kaiser and Judy Lukensmeyer were dismayed by news of the closure. The pair works in the front office at JLS Middle School and frequently walks the four blocks to Miki's for lunch.

"It's a sad thing," Kaiser said.

"And a shock," added Lukensmeyer.

At the bakery counter, Peggy Tao was trying to pick out a dessert for an upcoming potluck. Tao, who has shopped at Miki's since it opened, said the location was never an issue for her. If anything, it saved her from having to drive to stores in Mountain View with similar offerings.

"We loved coming here initially. I love the Asian section. I love the produce. And my daughter loves the sushi," she said after settling on a fruit tart. "I'm definitely disappointed."

Across the aisle, employee John Gutierrez somberly sliced deli meats and cheeses.

"Miki is a great guy and he had a really good vision for this store," Gutierrez said. "It's just sad."